Sooner or later he'll be mine
by RedHatMeg
Summary: "And in spite of his giant flaws that would make other women disgusted by him or caused them to laugh, I can see good in him, and I can't stop loving him. I guess we are already married in all but the name... " Jennyline's musings on her relationship with Gwizdo.


**It probably won't get any notes, but hear this - I realized not long time ago that I'm, in fact, a GwzidoxJennyline shipper so I decided to do something with it and write a story with my _Dragon Hunters_ OTP. It's also a character study. I wanted to show what kind of relationship those two share and why Jennyline would want to marry Gwizdo. Here's what I've got. It's kind of sad, but I believe that Gwizdo will end up as Jennyline's husband.**

**Also for more emotional expieriance I recommend you to read it while listening to _Blue Caravan_ by Vienna Teng.**

**Sooner or later he'll be mine**

I don't know why do I bother. He seems to be worse than all my three ex-husbands. His business is as successful as looking for fountains on the desert. He can't fight and always runs from danger, relying on Lian-Chu. He spends most of his time on those useless contracts only to come back empty-handed. He has a debt that extends to the furthest edge of the world and yet he _dares_ to argue with me as if I were one of those naïve villagers he always tries to deceive! He's just a con man, a coward, a filthy slot, who does nothing but cause trouble!

Then why do I sometimes consider his candidacy for a next husband? Why I'm fooling myself, thinking that one day he will propose to me, we will get engaged and he will marry me?

I always had this poor taste in men. I always choose the worst scums in the world. One could say that after three unhappy marriages I'd be wiser. That I wouldn't let another hoodlum feed me his sweet lies, take advantage of me and steal my valuables, leaving me only with a broken heart and maybe a pregnancy. And, indeed, I'm wiser and not as trusting as in the days of my foolish youth. I'm a woman of business. It has been long since I needed a man to feel better.

So where do those stupid thoughts come from? And why those stupid thoughts and feelings concentrate on someone like Gwizdo? Of all men coming to my inn, I harbor those feelings for this good-for-nothing idiot. Come to think of it, even Lian-Chu would be a better choice for a husband. At least Lian-Chu is a strong, honorable man with kind heart. He's helping me with the business and knows the value of hard work. He would never deceive anybody, let alone _me_. So why I'm not in love with _him_? What's about this scrawny trickster that makes him so attractive to me?

Maybe it's pity. Yes, pity. When he comes back after another failed job, all angry and sad; when he sits at the table, pouting and growling he looks so helpless… And when he takes off his hat, sighing with resignation, to be fair, he's even… adorable. Like a puppy who's looking for a new home. When he looks like that I can't be mad at him for long, and it would be almost heartless to throw him out.

He's also a good story-teller. You can say anything about Gwizdo, but not that he can't tell thrilling, suspenseful stories. And it's not only because of the plots themselves (which are great and if I didn't know better, I would believe that he's as brave and fearsome as he makes himself in those stories). It's also because he puts so much passion into gesticulation and the tone of his voice. This passion is all over the place when Gwizdo tells a story. It's like he was born to tell them. Maybe he missed his call. He should be a bard, not a con man who fights dragons (in the broadest meaning of this term). Everything seems to be better choice of career than that.

Sometimes I even wonder if there is a con man who's sneakier and more despicable than him. A con man who have less decency than Gwizdo. And then I realize that generally he's the one who tries to defend me against con men, when he spots them. He also helps with Zaza and always amazes me with his heroism (it took only a few seconds and Lian-Chu's persuasion for him to save me from that forest brothers, but when he finally decided to do it he rushed to hand the dragon they were looking for over to them). Lian-Chu always says that Gwizdo is, overall, a good man.

Lian-Chu knows people and he believe in Gwizdo. Even if he wasn't defending him occasionally, I still would see the bond between them. It's really hard to not see it. They are like brothers and they need each other. Obviously, if it wasn't for Lian-Chu, Gwizdo would be another greedy con man looking for gold and nothing more; and if it wasn't for Gwizdo, Lian-Chu would have gotten deceived a thousand times and starved to death long time ago. Lian-Chu can't write and read and he can only count to ten. So it's good that Gwzido is always with him. Even if most of the time they come back with nothing.

Maybe that's why I sometimes want to marry Gwizdo? Because he always comes back. Even when he got angry with me and declared loudly that he would find another inn, he came back and even apologized (in his own, subtle way) for his ungratefulness. No matter how far they go to do their job; no matter how dangerous it sounds and no matter what he says to me when departing, he always comes back here. And I'm waiting for him, ready to give him a hot meal and shelter. It's almost as he was a huntsman looking for a prey I could cook; a head of a family he provides for (alongside with Lian-Chu). Indeed, many dragons hunted down by them ended up in my pot.

Not only that, but they also spend time with Zaza, taking care of her. She and Zoria consider them father figures, and even want to pursue the dragon hunter career (which is not very good, but still shows that those two are heroes in their eyes). I know they will do anything to help them, to make them safe. And maybe if Gwzido was a little bit more protective and responsible, he would make an excellent father.

Sometimes I think that if I put my mind to it, I could change him. I could teach him good manners, raise him to be a good man and show him the meaning of love. This is a sweet illusion of every woman – that she can change her man into better person. And I'm always fooling myself that I could change Gwzido, but I always know that he won't change, at least not because of me.

So I'm waiting for his return every time when he's away; I consider him and Lian-Chu surrogate fathers for my daughters, I get jealous whenever he looks at another woman and I wish I could change him. I constantly yell at him and he constantly finds new excuses to talk back to me and new ways to annoy me. And in spite of his giant flaws that would make other women disgusted by him or caused them to laugh, I can see good in him, and I can't stop loving him. I guess we are already married in all but the name. And I guess that my "marriage" with Gwzido is the longest of all my marriages. That's why I want to marry him for real.

Sooner or later he will see it. Sooner or later he will realize that I'm the best thing he could ever get. Sooner or later he'll be mine.


End file.
